\Later that night, Ana stands in the tent, muttering curses under her breath as she attempts to take off her armor to sleep when Alistair enters the tent from behind her.

"Need some help?" He asks, coolly. He was surprised by how steady his voice came out regardless of the nervousness coursing through him. He had never slept alone with a woman before. Not that anything would happen due to her usual haughty attitude toward him and his lack inexperience with women in general. His thoughts from earlier about her lips resurfaced making his cheeks redden and he thanked the Maker that she was turned away from him.

"No. I got it." Ana mutters, continuing to try and fail at lifting her chainmail off before letting out a small whimper of helplessness.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he steps forward. "Here." He says, softly, grabbing the chainmail. He noticed her tense up and slowly lifts it off, making sure to only touch the chainmail. As he does so, the tunic and thin nightshirt beneath it lifts slightly to reveal the large black and blue bruises covering her back. Taken aback, he almost drops it but is able to keep a hold on it before laying it on the ground beside her bedroll.

She quickly pulls her shirt back down and turns away with a muttered thanks as she lowers herself down on her bedroll. Turning to say goodnight to him, she sees Alistair beginning to remove his plate armor. "What are you doing?" She asks, her eyes widening.

He pauses. "I'm getting ready for bed."

"In here?" She asks, incredulously. "Shouldn't you keep it where you sleep?"

His brows draw together in confusion. "I don't understand…"

Lifting her chin, she scowls at him. "You're not sleeping in here."

"Why not?"

She looks at him as though he's touched in the head. "Seriously? Because it's improper for a lady -" She begins to say as Alistair rolls his eyes. "Stop that."

"I don't see the problem! Why can't I sleep in here?" He says, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks down at her. "We slept in the same tent at Ostagar."

She purses her lips. "That was different, It wasn't just you and I. We were with the other wardens in case you tried anything."

Nervousness aside, he snorts. "Don't flatter yourself, sweetheart."

Her eyes flare. "Excuse you? What's that supposed to mean?"

Her turns away from her and continues to remove his armor which only angers her more. With a huff, she glances around her for something to throw and sees her sword belt lying off to the side, picking it up, scabbard and all, she throws it at him, the hilt hitting him on his side and falling to the ground. "Answer me!"

"Ow!" He looks down at the sword then glances up at her. "What?"

She points towards the flaps of the tent, her nostrils flaring angrily. "Leave." She hisses.

Turning to face her, he crosses his arms over his chest defiantly. "Are you mad? It's freezing out there! I'm staying here." Laying the gauntlet in his hand next to his bedroll, he grimaces. "This is what I get for carrying you a mile and a half? Maybe I should have left you at Ostagar." He mutters, not expecting for her to hear him. When he looks up, he sees the hurt look that she tries to hide. His expression softens as he lets out a sigh. "I'm sorry." He frowns. "I didn't mean that."

Averting her gaze, she turns away from him as a rogue tear slips down her cheek. "Fine. One night but you must sleep on the far other side." She says, gruffly as she tries to keep the emotion out of her voice. "After tonight, we find you another tent. Understand?"

He nods, even though she can't see it. "Understood. Goodnight, Ana."

Alistair tosses in his sleep, hearing murmurs and hushed voices. It takes him a few moments until he realizes that the sounds are coming from nearby. Opening his eyes, it takes a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before he sees the sloping ceiling of the canvas above. As quietly as he can, he pulls himself up into an upright position and looks around, silently praying that it's not darkspawn, or worse, Morrigan.

He sits still listening for the low hum that sounds in his mind whenever the darkspawn are near. What he hears is not the humming but sobbing. Frowning, he waits and listens until he hears a sniffle coming from Ana's still form at the other side of the tent. "Ana?" He whispers into the darkness.

Hearing her name, she pauses. She feels the heat rise to her cheeks as she quickly tries to wipe the tears that have been spilling down her cheeks for the past hour. "What?" She snaps. "If you're going to try something…"

Alistair stays where he is. "Are you alright?" He gently asks. "I heard you sniffling."

"Of course, I'm sniffling." She snaps. "It's freezing in here! This bedroll is lumpy and smells musty…" Feeling the tears beginning to rise once more, she stops, closing her eyes as a rogue tear breaks free. From the other side of the tent, she hears the sound of metal clanking together as Alistair moves his armor pieces aside and scooches a bit closer. She feels his presence close by and moves closer to the canvas.

"Ana." He says once more. "Please turn to look at me."

"Why?" She asks. "I'm fine."

"Please?"

For a moment, she lies perfectly still before she carefully sits up and turns to face him, wincing as her back protests. She sees the outline of his hair before her eyes adjust and she sees his face as he watches her. She hated how he was looking at her as though she was some pathetic urchin on the street. "What?" She asks, clenching her jaw in an attempt to keep the tears at bay.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't mean to hurt you..."

She rolls her eyes. "Don't be stupid. I wasn't crying over you."

"Oh good. Here I was hoping you weren't getting too attached to me. I've been told how incredibly addictive I can be."

Her brows draw together for a moment before she gets that he's joking. The joke is so stupid yet she finds herself cracking a small smile. "Don't flatter yourself." She scoffs, repeating his words from earlier.

"There it is." He grins. "That's the smile I was hoping for."

Feeling a flicker of affection towards him, she quickly looks down at the ground. It's a good thing it's dark , she thinks to herself as she feels the heat rise to her cheeks. Recalling their kiss, she bites her lip before shaking her head to clear the thoughts away.

Alistair's grin falters as she looks away. Taking a chance, he tentatively reaches out to touch her boot. "Hey."

She looks down at his hand then back up at him.

"If you weren't crying about what I said, what were you crying about?" He asks, taking his hand off her boot but letting it linger close by. "I know you've been through a lot these past couple months but, you can tell me. I'll understand…" He gives her a sheepish grin. "Or at least I'll try to."

As she looks at him, she's about to push his hand away from her and tell him to go to bed yet something deep down wanted to talk about everything. She shrugs. "After revisiting Ostagar, it just all hit me." Feeling suddenly self-conscious, she looks down. "It wasn't until I saw the bodies that I realized that…" She pauses as a rogue tear breaks free and slides down her cheek yet makes no effort to wipe it away. "I'm alone and have nothing." Grasping the edge of her tunic in her hands, she gives it a squeeze. "Everything is gone. My parents were killed, Rory is dead, I lost my child, I have no idea what has become of Fergus, Much or Hawke, my home was taken by a usurper along with my titles and lands and now…" Tears spill freely down her cheeks as she sniffs. "The Wardens and everything else is gone too! I'm completely alone in this world."

Without thinking, Alistair rises up onto his knees and instantly pulls her into an embrace, adjusting his arms so that he's not pressing on her bruised back. Realizing what he's doing, he's about to release her and apologize when he feels her wrap her arms around his shoulders and buries her face in his shoulder. He holds her, staying as still as he can as she sobs into his shoulder, wetting the thin fabric before he risking reaching up to stroke the back of her hair. As he does this, her sobs become quieter and he slowly feels her begin to relax. "It's okay." He whispers into her hair, silently wondering to himself about what she meant when she spoke of her child. "You're not alone. I'm right here."

They stay there, locked in an embrace for quite a long time before Ana finally pulls away, embarrassed at having such a vulnerable moment. She takes in a shaky breath, not looking at him. "We should...um." She begins to say, unsure of what can be said after such an intimate moment.

"Right!" He quickly nods. "Big day of travelling tomorrow. Need to get some rest."

"Uh...yeah."

Alistair returns to his side of the tent, his heart racing as he lies back down. "Well… goodnight."

Ana lies back down on her side and pulled her blanket around her, confused at the mix of emotions coursing through her. "Goodnight..." She pauses a moment. "Alistair?"

"Hm?"

There's another short pause and he opens his mouth to ask her what she needs when she speaks. "Thank you."

A smile creeps up to his face. "Anytime."